Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov dispute

A verbal and physical dispute continues to escalate between UFC fighters Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov following an altercation at the RAF Georgia event in Tbilisi. The friction began when Dvalishvili struck Ahmad, an associate of Nurmagomedov, during a media session. While Dvalishvili defended his actions as a response to provocation, Nurmagomedov criticized his professionalism.

Dvalishvili has since intensified his rhetoric, expressing personal animosity toward Nurmagomedov and his manager, Rizvan Magomedov, whom he previously described as ‘sneaky’. In response, Nurmagomedov has stated that the rivalry has become “personal for all of Dagestan” and indicated his intention to seek a rematch regardless of the outcome of Dvalishvili’s upcoming title bout.

As Dvalishvili prepares for his bantamweight title trilogy against Petr Yan at UFC 333, he remains focused on the difficulty of the matchup. Amidst these rising rivalries, Dvalishvili also clarified that his tensions with Islam Makhachev are rooted in political disagreements with the Russian government rather than personal issues with the fighter. Additionally, he has publicly defended fellow Georgian Ilia Topuria against fan disrespect following Topuria’s loss to Justin Gaethje.